Forcing Florida employees to contribute to their pension is unconstitutional

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Last week, the Florida Education Association joined with other groups to file a lawsuit challenging the Florida Legislature's mandate regarding the pay of 655,000 teachers, law-enforcement officers, firefighters and other workers who serve the citizens of our state. We didn't take this action lightly, but we believed we had no other choice. When the Legislature mandated that active members of the Florida Retirement System must give up 3 percent of their salary as "contributions" to their retirement benefits, it impaired a contractual agreement with employees in violation of the Florida Constitution. The Florida Retirement System is set up as a...

TALLAHASSEE — Pink slips are going out to more than 1,600 state workers by Friday, the human toll of the austere spending plan approved by lawmakers and Gov. Rick Scott this spring. Facing a nearly $4 billion budget deficit, the legislature cut thousands of jobs, froze hiring and forced state workers to contribute 3 percent of their salaries to their pension plans in the 2011-2012 budget year that begins Friday. Meanwhile, Scott continues to look for ways to shrink government spending. The Department of Children and Families and the Department of Juvenile Justice will suffer most of the staff cuts....

I have a pension that I don't contribute to, because I was hired in at the right time. Everyone here hired after 1997, which is the vast majority of the state workforce, has a combined contribution 401K plan. They all seem to think it's a good plan, and that it is competitive with the private sector.

Michigan's new budget calls for taxes on pension payments, so it doesn't affect me as long as I am still working. Gov. Snyder has been pretty decent to us. I don't think anyone can screw us over as badly as the last governor did, and she was endorsed by the union.

My wife and I are retired. We both collect SS, and I have a Federal pension to which I contributed 7%. Neither has had a COLA for the past two years, and we don't expect there will be one for another couple of years. Yet the cost of living has really increased during that time thanks to hussein's economy. It's starting to really hurt.

My Federal salary as a computer systems engineer was about 2/3 of what IBM offered me to work for them, or what Amdahl or any other large software/hardware company would have paid.

We both paid into SS, and I paid into my retirement pension - actually two ways by accepting a lower salary while kicking in 7% of that lower salary.

My wife and I have no regrets, and we don't complain, because we can manage a budget. I say piss on those whining Florida employees who think they deserve something for nothing. When you suck on a teat, and the teat runs dry, well.....

We're in the Ozarks...and we can survive!

Four boxes keep us free: the soap box, the ballot box, the jury box, and the cartridge box.

I paid around 7% into my retirement fund with the state of LA which I think is fair. I did not pay SS. I don't understand why state employees should not have to pay into their retirement fund. That is just sick. These civil service unions should be banned cause the benefits are out of control and the states can not afford them.